無畏精神挽教難

乙丑一百有一十歲。春戒後。回雲門。裝修全堂聖像。八十餘尊。赴港講經。一日遇岑學呂。談次問曰。世變至此。我將安適。曰學道人隨處都是家鄉。放下便是道場。居士安心罷。岑留公居港弘法。曰弘法自有人。我責在維護數萬僧伽。

宣化偈曰：

維護教難救僧伽。誓報佛恩赴湯火。
無畏精神奮三昧。有為行願越萬劫。

Rescuing the teaching with fearless vigor

The Master was one-hundred-and-ten in 1949, and following the annual Spring Precept Period, he returned to Yun Men (Cloud Gate) Monastery, where he had crafted a full set of more than eighty sacred images. Later, he went to Hong Kong to expound Sutras, and one day met Ts'en Hsueh Lu²⁹, who asked, "Where can I go to attain peace in this ever-changing world?" The Master answered, "For a student of the Way, wherever he goes is his home. Letting go of everything is just the Bodhimanda. Don't worry about it so much." Ts'en insisted the Master stay in Hong Kong to propagate the Dharma, but he said, "There are already people here who can do so. My responsibility lies in holding together the several tens of thousands of bhikshus on the Mainland."

The gatha says:
To hold together and protect the Teaching, he saved the Sangha members.
Vowing to repay the Buddha's kindness, he would go through scaldings and fire.
With fearlessness and unfledging vigor, his samadhi was energetic.
The practice of his magnanimous vows extends through thousands of kalpas.

29. See #187.